This One Time
by ThatGirlOnMars
Summary: Everything seemed quiet that day, but to Zoro, that made a major difference. He sees Luffy is not in sight. So he goes and looks for him. But why is he crying his eyes out? What has his captain so sad and miserable? Zoro swears that he will make everything right for the one he loves. ZoroxLuffy fluff. Sad fic! Rated T for language. Don't like BoyxBoy relationships? Don't read!


**Hey there! I am back again! Mwahaha~! Not really evil laughter worthy, but whatever. Anyways, I decided to try my luck with a sad Fanfiction, but I am not sure how good it is. I decided, muse is in head, give it a chance. Please don't kill me if you don't like it! Please? **

**A/N: WARNING! This piece of wonderful art contains yaoi. This is Luffy and Zoro paired up together. Don't like it? I'm sorry, you shouldn't have clicked it then! Please be careful of what you click! Seriously! I don't want any complaints! Okay? None at all!**

**READ PLEASE! I do not own One Piece. If I did, Zoro would be ravishing either Luffy or Sanji every other minute, or vice versa. M'kay? Sadly, One Piece is Edo-sensei's territory and the anime is Funimation's playground. I own my imagination and this fic. **

**For those who like this, Enjoy~!**

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It was a normal day on the Going Merry. Not much seemed to be happening. Zoro was taking his usual nap, Usopp was inventing something, Robin was reading, Chopper was making medicine, Nami was updating her maps, and Sanji was making food for the ladies. Zoro felt a disturbance. Something wasn't right. Luffy wasn't around. He wondered where that crazy captain of his went. As the first mate, it was his duty to find him. He got up from his napping spot, grabbed his katanas, secured them to his haramaki, and then started searching for his beloved captain. The first place he thought to look was the kitchen, since it was quiet on deck. He walked straight up to the door, silently opening it and going in.

"Oi, shit cook. Have you seen Luffy? He hasn't been around all day." Zoro asked, calmly.

"Bastard! What makes you think that you can just step right in here and demand things without even making a sound, let alone treading on my property?!" Sanji yelled back, thoroughly pissed off.

"I'm not here to argue, we can do that later. Now where is Luffy?" Sanji looked really surprised. It wasn't like Zoro to pass up a fight. But if Zoro was acting that strangely, then something must be wrong. The balance was thrown off. Everyone on the ship knew that Zoro had the sharpest instincts and is great at reading the atmosphere. So Sanji decided just to answer the question.

"I don't know, Marimo. Now that you mention it, he hasn't been in to raid the fridge yet. Something's up. Let me know when you find him. Try the galley. He hangs there sometimes." He answered thoughtfully. He still couldn't believe that he was helping that marimo-bastard, but he might as well. It was weird anyways.

With that, Zoro left with a grunt of approval and headed towards the galley. He actually made it around the ship without getting sidetracked, much less lost. He opened the door to the galley and took a long look around. But he wasn't there either. Something wasn't right. Now Zoro was slightly worried. He knew Luffy could handle himself, but what if this was a mental problem. Luffy didn't do too well with those. Zoro had no idea how many times he had to calm Luffy down after a nightmare, or when he had problems coming to terms with new feelings. But he decided to continue looking anyways.

He went down to the Men's Quarters next, knowing that there was a good chance he was there. But he wasn't. As soon as Zoro stepped inside, he already knew that he wasn't there. But that made no difference to him. He continued to look around as if there was a chance that he was there. But he wasn't. It was starting to get ridiculous. He couldn't find him anywhere. He searched every single hammock. He checked the couch, everything. He decided to head over to the bathroom. He didn't find him there either. He checked high and low in the bathroom. He checked the water drawing room, the crow's nest, the kitchen (again), and then he checked the Mikan grove. He was nowhere to be found. But there was one place he hadn't checked yet. The girl's bedroom. He headed over there. _He better be there, _he thought. And he was right.

There sat Luffy, crying, and hugging his knees. He sat still on the floor next to Nami's bed, the only movement he made was the shaking from his sobs racking his small frame. Zoro was upset and angered at the same time. Who would do this to _his _captain?! He was about to find out.

Zoro silently made his way over to Luffy, sitting on the floor next to him, back propped up on the side of the bed. He then pulled Luffy into his lap and hugged him, letting him cry it out. Truth be told, Zoro was the only one to see Luffy cry like this. Everyone else saw his anger tears, or his friendship tears, but not his sad, desperate tears. The ones that deserved immediate attention and special care. Care that only Zoro could give. He would let Luffy tell him when he was ready, not before, not after. Just when he was ready to tell him everything. Zoro would hold him until he was ready, not saying anything until Luffy was calm enough to talk.

That was the way it was for a good ten minutes before he looked at Zoro, waiting for a question. Zoro was more than willing to ask one.

"Why are you in the girl's room? What's the matter, Luffy?" he asked gently. He was giving Luffy some room to speak.

"I had a nightmare. I came here since no one would look for me here." He looked at Zoro with tear-stained eyes, pleading for him to tell no one about what transpired in this area and moment. Zoro gave him a small squeeze to let him know that he would never tell and that he could continue. Luffy took a deep breath and continued with his tale.

"I dreamt that we were having a lot of fun on an island. It was a really nice one, too! I got tons of food, and everyone was happy! You stayed by my side the whole trip, coming with me to get food in all kinds of places. But suddenly, everything turned dark and the next thing I knew, you were all standing in front of me. First, it was Robin. Her arms were cut off, then her eyes were taken out. She was crying for help, but I couldn't move or speak. I had to sit there and watch the whole thing!" Luffy started to choke up again. Zoro rubbed small, soothing circles on his back while Luffy got himself back together so he could speak again.

"Next was Chopper. They decided to flay him alive, and then pulled his brain out. Sanji was next. They cut his fingers off one by one. He was screaming so loudly, but I couldn't do anything. Then they chopped off his feet and cut out his tongue. After that was Usopp. The people cut his stomach open and used his insides as- as a slingshot. T-they took his organs out one by one and fired them at him." By this time, Luffy was sobbing, tears flowing out fast. He could do nothing to stop them, so he just let them fall, his head laid against Zoro's shoulder. He took a few deep breaths, feeling the change of Zoro's hands going from his back to his back and hair, stroking both. Zoro gave him a reassuring hug, and with that, he continued on with the terror that had occurred in his head.

"Then it was Nami's turn. They slashed at her body with her navigating tools. They made a map on her, and then traced it with cutting tools. They cut her deeply, letting her bleed out all over the place. And then they turned to you." Luffy at this time was sobbing so hard that a tremor ran through his body with every breath and hiccup. "They took you away from me! They plunged your own swords into your body! One in your mouth, and the others in your arms! I was so sad! They took away the ones I call nakama, but most importantly they took away the one I love! They took you away from me! I tried so hard b-but I-I coul-dn't do anyh-thing to save you! They l-left me all a-lone!" Luffy broke down and cried hard. Zoro had never seen it this bad before. The pain of seeing his captain this upset was unbearable. He hugged Luffy tightly, to show that he was still there. He kissed his forehead, reassuring him that everyone was still there. That his crew was there for him, and nothing would change that. Ever. Nothing would stop Zoro from driving that terrible nightmare out of his head. He would do everything he can for the one he loved! He's the first-mate, goddamn it! He will make his Pirate King feel better, even if it killed him!

"Luffy," he started. "It's going to be okay. Look here. Look at me, okay?" Zoro tilted Luffy's head toward him. Luffy looked at him with puffy, chocolate-brown eyes. "Look, I'm here. I will always be here. I am not going to die before I fulfill my dream, and I sure as hell won't die until yours is, too. I love you, respect you, and care for you. I will not let some shitty nightmare hurt the one I love. Everyone else is here, too, and we are not going anywhere, okay? We chose to stand beside you, to fight beside you, to reach our goals beside you. I won't let anyone get hurt, Sanji won't let the girls get hurt, and if we get scratched up, we have Chopper here to fix us up. Not to mention, he turns into a giant human-reindeer with crazy strong powers, so he's all good. Usopp will do just fine. And we all know that Robin and Nami can handle their own issues. We will always be here, okay? Always." Zoro looked straight into Luffy's eyes as he finished, giving his hand a squeeze and his back a good rub. Luffy smiled a bit and nodded. Zoro lifted his hand to wipe his tears, and then leaned in to give him a kiss. It was a gentle one, one that simply stated: _I am here._ No more, no less.

They broke for air, and that is when Luffy gave a bigger smile.

"Thanks, Zoro. I don't know what I'd be without you." He hugged Zoro tightly, holding on to feel the warmth that was Zoro.

"No problem, buddy. Now, let's go get you some food. You haven't eaten all day, and if we don't get something in you soon, we will run out of food before the next island! Besides, Nami said we will hit the next island in three days. So you need to stock up on energy, right?" Zoro said, smiling genuinely.

"By the way, Zoro?" Luffy asked. Zoro stared at him. "You talked a lot today! I have never heard you say that much before! It's nice! I'm glad I get to keep the Zoro that talks a lot all to myself!" He grinned his usual smile, and then ran to Zoro and got on his back. "Zoro! Food!"

"Okay, okay! I'm going already, so relax!" Zoro chuckled lightly.

"Oh, and Zoro?"

"Yes, Luffy?"

"I love you."

Zoro smiled lightly. "I love you too, Captain."

And with that, they headed off to the kitchen to get Luffy some food.

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**A/N: So, what do you think? Is it any good? Any of you want to click the little review button and give me feed back yet? Yes? No? Maybe? Whatever the decision is, I just want to see some traffic moving through this fic, okay? I love all of you readers! Even the haters! Love you guys! Peace!**

**~ThatGirlOnMars**


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